Run in with an undercover garda

Quentinkrisp

I have to say I've a serious cycling addict, Since January i've been to cycling to work nearly every day, rain or shine and loving the feeling of accomplishment it gives me:Dmy route takes me through tara street towards clontarf.

Today, however, I wasn't in the best of moods and was cycling up tara street, i was on the broken white line between the two lines and had the headphones in, was kind of lost in my own world. A car then beeped me and acting instinctively I gave the driver the middle finger as he passed me by. he was on the inside lane, he slowed down ahead of me and then stopped, I firstly thought he was going to get out and start on me, but then I saw a red light flash on the back of his car and heard a loud piercing siren sound and instantly got the biggest 'oh ****' feeling i've had in a long time.

He then moved over to the curb and I cycled over to the window to see what he had to say, he started giving out to me and telling me i was in the wrong (fair enough) began saying stuff like 'were you born with a few brain cells missing?' (grey area with meas i suffer AS) and then asked me for something with my name on it.
I gave him my college ID, he looked at it and continued to tick me off before handing back my college ID and driving off.

I got a bit of a shock out of the whole thing obviously. The whole point of this story is: and what I want to know is, will that garda then ring up the college and get my address from them (he now knows what college i go to)
am i screwed?
will i be going to court for this?






Mods, feel free to move this to an appropriate forum if necessary. Fellow cyclists, i don't wish to tarnish your names with my carry on, I make it my business to obey traffic lights+avoid footpaths every time i cycle.

GTDolanator

second paragraph had me in stiches.Id say youl be fine sure the cop was prob in the same mood as you at that hour in the morning.<snip>

You'll never hear any more about it

Penfailed

RoverJames wrote: »

You'll never hear any more about it

That's what I'm thinking too.

Beasty

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

kind of lost in my own world.

I think I see the problem right there;)

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

I gave the driver the middle finger as he passed me by.

Not a wise move;)

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

I got a bit of a shock out of the whole thing obviously.

Sounds like the guard's tactics worked;)

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

, will that garda then ring up the college and get my address from them (he now knows what college i go to)
am i screwed?
will i be going to court for this?

I doubt it - he would have taken your address there and then if he intended taking it further (no guarantees though;))

TheBunk1

I'd be pretty sure you're not going to hear anymore about this but wtf were you doing cycling around with you're headphones on? Accident waiting to happen

TheBlaaMan

I'm open to correction, but I think a guard has to caution you under a specific part of the road traffic act if he intends to follow it up. You should be fine.........try to be a bit more chilled, though:D

Quentinkrisp

Cheers for the reassurances, i'll watch my step> as for the music, thats debatable. i will, however, take theblaaman's advice+chill

Dubba

Doubt the Guard would make anything out of it, especially since he wasn't in a squad car so you weren't meaningfully giving the law the finger.

CramCycle

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

I wasn't in the best of moods and was cycling up tara street, i was on the broken white line between the two lines and had the headphones in, was kind of lost in my own world. A car then beeped me and acting instinctively I gave the driver the middle finger as he passed me by.

Get rid of the headphones and focus on the world your in rather than a different one before you get back on the bike or the next vehicle to pull over to you with blue flashing lights will be an Ambulance.

To be honest you were lucky it was the gardai, plenty of lads with a mate in the passenger seat who would think nothing of beating 7 shades of sh1t out of you for being a d1ck when they were giving you a warning.

Not a personal slur to clarify, just characterising your behavior at the time.

Captain Havoc

Best thing is to always wave, if it's a friend, they'll think you're acknowledging them and if it's a cnut, they'll think you're winding them up.

delta_bravo

Dubba wrote: »

Doubt the Guard would make anything out of it, especially since he wasn't in a squad car so you weren't meaningfully giving the law the finger.

Regardless of who it is it probably is classified as disturbing the peace or something like that.

Nothing will probably come of it but you should learn to control yourself.

pmcd22

Middle finger is never the best choice on any situation.. Feels right at the time. i got into the habit of doing it both in the car and on the bike.

But now I use the reverse tactics and give the happy wave. The polite way grinds people more than the middle finger. they are so used to the finger being thrown up, they cant react to a friendly wave which p****s them off more.

Lumen

Since when is it against the law to give someone the finger? Or wear headphones? Or filter through traffic?

Idleater

Lumen wrote: »

Since when is it against the law to give someone the finger?

It's not per sé, but it can be construed as incitement when taken with other actions such as shouting abuse.

That's what I was told years ago after a guard saw me do both when a taxi pulled in on me. He had choice words with the driver too but he said to tone down the actions in future.

nak

The gards seem to like making up the law sometimes; my husband was told last week that walking with your bike to the shop was illegal. It was a one way street, so he got off the bike at the lights and walked to spar. Was told if he was caught doing it again they would take the bike off him.

xz

You need to be a bit more chilled, It's like the adage of if you feel that you have nothing to smile about, smile anyway...... it p****s people off

Cabaal

nak wrote: »

The gards seem to like making up the law sometimes; my husband was told last week that walking with your bike to the shop was illegal. It was a one way street, so he got off the bike at the lights and walked to spar. Was told if he was caught doing it again they would take the bike off him.

If I was told that I honestly just wouldn't be abe to stop laughing at them, :pac:

Zulu

<snip>

Lumen

Idleater wrote: »

It's not per sé, but it can be construed as incitement when taken with other actions such as shouting abuse.

That's what I was told years ago after a guard saw me do both when a taxi pulled in on me. He had choice words with the driver too but he said to tone down the actions in future.

Incitement? What law is that? The 1989 Prohibition Of Incitement To Hatred Act?

I think you'd have to actually paint the finger on the Garda car, in bodily fluids, with an appropriate caption, to fall foul of that Act.

GlennaMaddy

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

...
will i be going to court for this? am i screwed

I'd say so, you should leave the country now while you have a chance

doozerie

Lumen wrote:

Incitement? What law is that?

A few months back I was told by a Garda that my giving the finger to a driver that was trying to park his car on the patch of road that I occupied was road rage. He followed me on his motorbike and pulled me over to expound upon the topic. He seemed to think that of the two "wrongs", my giving the finger was for more serious than a car trying to push me off the road. No, I don't understand it either but it does seem that the definition of "road rage" is quite broad in the Garda dictionary.

TinyExplosions

I go for the old "Blow them a kiss" gesture myself... much better than a finger

nak

Cabaal wrote: »

If I was told that I honestly just wouldn't be abe to stop laughing at them, :pac:

He laughed and went into shop, the garda came up to him again and told him his attitude stank and he would get arrested if he saw him doing anything out of line again. A bike is a vehicle, so you can't walk with it on the road or pavement. Using on-street bike parking must be illegal in that case.

I've been told that helmets are a legal requirement, as are lights at 10am on a sunny summer's day. A friend was told that there was a €500 fine for cycling along the luas tracks at harcourt st. Funnily enough they didn't try and fine him.

Chips Lovell

There was a poster, who can no longer visit here, who argued that giving the finger was a breach of the peace.

tomasrojo

I saw a Garda in Rathmines one day telling a man who looked as if he was from east Asia that helmets and high-visibility jackets were required. I think he'd started off telling him that he had to have lights as it was dark, which is certainly true, but then went off-piste a bit.

Jawgap

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

Today, however, I wasn't in the best of moods and was cycling up tara street, ........

Don't cycle angry:)

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

telling me i was in the wrong (fair enough) began saying stuff like 'were you born with a few brain cells missing?' (grey area with meas i suffer AS) and then asked me for something with my name on it.
am i screwed?
will i be going to court for this?

You're not screwed and you're not going to court.....

.....I think if a Guard said 'were you born with a few brain cells missing?' to me I'd have to hack my tongue out to prevent me saying "No, which probably explains why I'm not in the Guards":) which I know would not be the brightest of moves.

If / when I get beeped, I wave cheerily back as I figure that's more infuriating to the beeper if they think that their beep has been interpreted as a note of acknowledgement or friendliness

heffsarmy

Something similar happened to me, I gave a cop the finger after he set his siren off beside me when cycing the bike. Anyways I was summons to court, the pr*ck never turn up, got a strike out. If he has'nt taken your details, I don't think he will be chasing you.

Chips Lovell

nak wrote: »

A friend was told that there was a €500 fine for cycling along the luas tracks at harcourt st.

I'm pretty sure that one is correct actually.

morana

they are in the racing bunchs as well!! so watch out there if you are being aggressive towards another rider they might just pull you in!!

ednwireland

Quentinkrisp wrote: »

Cheers for the reassurances, i'll watch my step> as for the music, thats debatable. i will, however, take theblaaman's advice+chill

i prefer not to remove one of my senses when i'm cycling

like to hear cars when they come up behind me

Undercover Elephant

Lumen wrote: »

Incitement? What law is that?

Might be Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.

It shall be an offence for any person in a public place to use or engage in any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace may be occasioned.

A bit hard to prove if you ride off, I'd have thought.

Lumen

Undercover Elephant wrote: »

Might be Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.

Hmmm, more likely to be covered by "disorderly conduct" in section 5...

Act wrote:

Disorderly conduct in public place.

5.—(1) It shall be an offence for any person in a public place to engage in offensive conduct—

(a) between the hours of 12 o'clock midnight and 7 o'clock in the morning next following, or

(b) at any other time, after having been requested by a member of the Garda Síochána to desist.

(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

(3) In this section “offensive conduct” means any unreasonable behaviour which, having regard to all the circumstances, is likely to cause serious offence or serious annoyance to any person who is, or might reasonably be expected to be, aware of such behaviour.

So, it's OK to be disorderly outside the hours of midnight and 7am, as long as you don't continue after a member of the Garda Síochána has asked you to desist.

Warning from plain clothes surely doesn't count until they've properly identified themselves, mens rea and all that.

littlejp

ednwireland wrote: »

i prefer not to remove one of my senses when i'm cycling

like to hear cars when they come up behind me

I find nothing wrong with having music on at a reasonable level. I can still hear all the traffic around me and have full awareness of what's behind me.

GSF

Thread title is wrong - "undercover garda!" - plain clothes more like. Unless the OP is claiming entrapment

Canis Lupus

TheBunk1 wrote: »

I'd be pretty sure you're not going to hear anymore about this but wtf were you doing cycling around with you're headphones on? Accident waiting to happen

OT but this annoys me as much as being told I should wear a helmet. :mad:

Hermy

littlejp wrote: »

I find nothing wrong with having music on at a reasonable level. I can still hear all the traffic around me and have full awareness of what's behind me.

What's a reasonable level?

Zulu

Zulu wrote: »

<snip>

Apologies OP, my post was a personal attack that wasn't meant as a personal attack if that make any sense what-so-ever.
Anyways - sincerest apologies for offence caused.

littlejp

Hermy wrote: »

What's a reasonable level?

A level where I can hear the music but still hear traffic... obviously.

Hermy

littlejp wrote: »

A level where I can hear the music but still hear traffic... obviously.

Obviously!:D

CramCycle

CramCycle wrote: »

To be honest you were lucky it was the gardai, plenty of lads with a mate in the passenger seat who would think nothing of beating 7 shades of sh1t out of you for being a d1ck when they were giving you a warning.

Plenty of cyclists who they'd regret trying that on too

nak

nak wrote: »

He laughed and went into shop, the garda came up to him again and told him his attitude stank and he would get arrested if he saw him doing anything out of line again. A bike is a vehicle, so you can't walk with it on the road or pavement. Using on-street bike parking must be illegal in that case.

I've been told that helmets are a legal requirement, as are lights at 10am on a sunny summer's day. A friend was told that there was a €500 fine for cycling along the luas tracks at harcourt st. Funnily enough they didn't try and fine him.

All those Gardai sound like grade A muppets, lots of grade A muppets got into the Gardai during the boom.

xz

RoverJames wrote: »

All those Gardai sound like grade A muppets, lots of grade A muppets got into the Gardai during the boom.

Those "muppets", at the end of the day have a job, which I,personally do not envy. Everyone has off days, do you do your job "perfectly" everyday?
Why do people assume, that when someone beeps their horn at you, that they are being beligerent towards you, this actually sounds like a case of a driver, who happened to be a Garda, beeping his horn to "WARN" of his presence (some motorists, do actually do this, you know), only to be met with the bird being flipped at him.

And on a similar note, when I was learning to drive, I was taught that flashing your lights at another driver was a "WARNING" to them of your prescence, not an invitation to pull out in front of you.

Think I'll go over to Motorists, and start a Friday thread, I'm feeling that way today.


Oh, and getting back to my quote from you, not everyone is the right person for the job in which they are doing, responsibility and dare I say power, just goes to some peoples heads.

Lumen

xz wrote: »

And on a similar note, when I was learning to drive, I was taught that flashing your lights at another driver was a "WARNING" to them of your prescence, not an invitation to pull out in front of you.

You were taught wrong.

You should never flash your headlights as the signal is ambiguous. If there is subsequent crash you may find yourself at fault for doing so.

Chips Lovell

I've already had to issue warnings to two people on this thread and I'm running out of yellow cards.

This is not a garda bashing thread. Do your garda bashing on the garda bashing forum --->

Thanks.

xz

xz wrote: »

Those "muppets", at the end of the day have a job, which I,personally do not envy. Everyone has off days, do you do your job "perfectly" everyday?

Well for a start any Garda who reckons that
- A bike is a vehicle, so you can't walk with it on the road or pavement.
- That helmets are a legal requirement,
- as are lights at 10am on a sunny summer's day.
- there is €500 fine for cycling along the luas tracks at harcourt st.

is a muppet, I wasn't referring to the Garda who dealt with the OP by beeping his horn at him.

xz

Lumen wrote: »

You were taught wrong.

You should never flash your headlights as the signal is ambiguous. If there is subsequent crash you may find yourself at fault for doing so.

Well maybe my instructor learned his trade in the UK, its in their highway code:rolleyes:

From the "SIGNALS" section of the British highway code :110
Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

xz

RoverJames wrote: »

Well for a start any Garda who reckons that
- A bike is a vehicle, so you can't walk with it on the road or pavement.
- That helmets are a legal requirement,
- as are lights at 10am on a sunny summer's day.
- there is €500 fine for cycling along the luas tracks at harcourt st.

is a muppet, I wasn't referring to the Garda who dealt with the OP by beeping his horn at him.

-A bike IS a vehicle
-No, helmets are not a legal requirement, but is a common misunderstanding (yes, i know the Garda should know)
-Lights are a legal requirement at night,but, even motorists are encouraged to use their dipped lights during the day, but as, yet is not a legal requirement.
- This one I have no idea about, but why would you cycle "along" the Luas tracks, surely the safest place is "alongside", so I'm sure there might be a fin for cycling "Along" the Luas track

dited

xz wrote: »

Well maybe my instructor learned his trade in the UK, its in their highway code:rolleyes:

Highway Code wrote:

110
Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070289

xz

dited wrote: »

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070289

yeah, I know, I re-edited my post, but I was still right in their use as a warning to your prescence

Lumen

xz wrote: »

Well maybe my instructor learned his trade in the UK, its in their highway code:rolleyes:

From the "SIGNALS" section of the British highway code :110
Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

Since it's a common convention for people to flash headlights as a signal to proceed or as a rebuke, the instructor should have taught you not to use the signal at all.

Theory != practice. Bad instructor.